Afghanistan - An Overview

  • Baba was born/grew up

    Baba was born in the year of 1933 and grew up with Ali. "Baba was always telling us the mischief he and Ali used to cause..." (25).
  • Amir's mother (Sanubar) dies

    When Amir found out that he was brothers with Hassan he knew it meant that they came from the same mother which was Sanubar. Sanubar had been away from the family for a long time after she gave birth to Hassan. When she came back she helped to raise Hassan's son, Sohrab, but only lived to see him turn four. The day she died, "... on morning, she just did not wake up. She looked calm, at peace..." (211).
  • Kabul's monarchy ends

    "...Kabul awoke the next morning to find that the monarchy was a thing of the past" (36). Zahir Shah was the king of Kabul for forty years and his cousin, Daoud Khan, ended it that night.
  • Hassan's lip gets fixed

    "The swelling subsided, and the wound healed with time. Soon, it was just a pink jagged line running up from his lip" (47). During Eid, Hassan's gift from Baba was to get his lip fixed from being deformed.
  • Hassan gets raped

    While Hassan was running a kite for Amir, Assef caught him in a corner and raped him for not giving the kite over and being a, "...disrespectful donkey" (75).
  • Amir wins the kite flying contest

    In the winter of 1975, Amir and Hassan competed in the kite flying competition and Amir was the last kite to still be in the air. "I didn't need to hear the crowd's roar to know. I didn't need to see either. Hassan was screaming and his arm was wrapped around my neck" (66).
  • Ali and Hassan quit from being servants for Baba and Amir

    "I'm sorry Agha sahib, but our bags are already packed. We have made our decision" (106). Ali and Hassan make the choice to 'quit' working for Baba and Amir after Amir assumes Hassan told Ali everything about the rape and how Amir knew but didn't say anything.
  • Amir's 13th Birthday party

    Baba threw a huge part for Amir's 13th birthday and Assef was invited. "Happy Birthday, Amir. It was Assef, with his parents" (95). At the party Amir also saw Hassan serving drinks to Assef, which made Amir feel upset and sad.
  • 1979-1996: The Soviet Invasion and After

    The Soviet Invasion happened when they first parachuted into Kabul and stayed there for nine years fighting. After the invasion, Afghanistan's power was divided among multiple groups but was eventually all given to one group.
  • Baba and Amir leave Kabul

    Baba and Amir left Kabul and arrived in Fremont, California during the 1980s. They decided to go to America because, "Baba loved the idea of America" (125).
  • Amir meets Soraya

    When Amir first sees Soraya, he falls in love and she becomes the only thing on his mind. "She walked to a dull gray van... For the rest of that day, I fought the urge to look toward the gray van" (141).
  • Amir's graduation from highschool

    Amir graduated highschool in America at the age of 20 and as a congratualtions gift, Baba got him, "an old model Ford, long and wide, a dark color I couldn't discern..." (133).
  • 1996-2001: The Taliban Takeover

    The Taliban took over in 1996 and imposed strict rules in the Islamic law.
  • Amir meets Sohrab for the first time

    When Amir first sees Sohrab it is not how he imagined it because he is face to face with Assef and just found out that he has to fight Assef if he want to take Sohrab. "We have some unfinished business, you and I" (286).
  • Sohrab tries to commit suicide

    After Amir rescued Sohrab from Assef and the orphanage, Sohrab would rarely talk or smile but as time went on and Amir showed care and love to him, he started to open up. One night when Amir was trying to figure out how to get Sohrab with him to America he thought that he might have to put Sohrab back in an orphanage for a little bit and when Sohrab heard this he got very upset. That same night he slit his wrists in the bathtub and almost died then but Amir caught him in time.
  • 2001-2008: Post 9/11 Invasion

    After 9/11 the US joined forces with a rebel group who had never approved Taliban laws/rules. They drove the Taliban out of major cities in Afghanistan.
  • 9/11 Attacks

    In the book there is a very small part where they mention the 9/11 attacks but it gives perspective to the reader on what is going on in the rest of the world at that time.
  • The Karzai Government

    Hamid Karzai was elected for the president of Afghanistan in 2004 for a five year term. He wanted to have peace and give the country as much international aid as possible.
  • The Taliban Resurgence

    Forgetting their loss in 2001, the Taliban waged a guerilla warfare from an area in a tribal base near the Pakistan-Afghanistan boarder. They started to extend towards the south part of Afghanistan because America, at that time, was more focused on Iraq.
  • Obama's War

    Obama wanted to widen the United States engagement with Afghanistan but after General Stanley McChystlal made insulting comments, Obama "tapped Gen. Petraeus to lead the war effort there." And in a speech in 2001 he mentioned that he had a plan to deploy 30,000 troops.